Preventing Wind Failures

Builder Steve Drake had been in business
ten year, built over 600 homes,
and had never had a problem with
wind. Drake's crew was within six sheet
of finishing off a roof on a large custom
home in Champaign, Ill., when a sudden
rain squall moved through the
area. The crew scrambled down from
the roof to the first floor to wait for the
sky to clear. Minutes later, a gust of
wind shook the building. The crew
narrowly escaped out the doorway as
the wind blew the house apart.
No one was injured, and the losses
were largely covered by insurance. But
many builders are not so lucky.
Bob Mairs, a spokesperson for St.
Paul's, the